neutral ground
by matchbookjealousy
Summary: when Rachel and Quinn are forced to work together on an assignment for glee, they learn that maybe the other really isn't as bad as they'd originally though. spoilers up to 2x16 "Original Songs". one-shot.


**A/N: hope you like this! thanks a bunch to my wonderful beta, particularly good finder for all of her help!**

**reviews are always appreciated!**

**happy reading!**

**~ matchbook ^^**

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><p><strong>Use of song inspired by Davis B.P.'s <strong>_**What Is This Feeling?**_** and the Faberry conversation inspired by chapter 17 of poetzproblem's **_**This Kiss **_**(both of which can be found on ff . net, by the way).**

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><p>"Ok, gang, quiet down," Mr. Schuester says when he enters the choir room. After a moment, the group of students has settled down and their teacher continues. "I'm thinking that maybe we should try duets again." The glee clubbers groan in unison. "I've paired you with someone you haven't worked with before. I want you to put aside any of your differences and work together."<p>

"You're not going to make me work with Dwarf, are you?" Santana asks rudely. Rachel just rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"Don't be mean, Santana," Brittany says. Santana rolls her eyes, but doesn't reply. Rachel pats Brittany's knee in appreciation, and the ditzy blonde smiles back at her.

Mr. Schue grabs the clipboard from where it's sitting behind him on top of the grand piano, and starts calling out pairs.

Rachel had started making mental lists of songs she could sing with each member of the club when Mr. Schue had said they were going to be doing duets again. Suddenly, however, she is called back from her planning when she hears her name being called.

"Mr. Schue, you can't be serious," Quinn says disbelievingly.

Immediately understanding the situation, Rachel rushes in to speak as well. "I agree, Mr. Schuester. You, yourself know how well Quinn and I work together in a _group_ setting. Don't you think it's a bit much for you to except us to act civilly toward each other when we're working _alone_?" Rachel says, standing up from her chair.

"That's the point of this assignment, Rachel, Quinn. You have to learn to work together and respect each other. This will be a good lesson for all of you. In life, you're going to have to work with people you don't get along with. I mean, you know for a fact that Coach Sylvester and I don't get along, but I don't go around trying to sabotage the Cheerios just because I don't like her attitude."

The kids nod, understanding his point.

"She sabotages our performances all the time! Why _not_ fight back?" Santana says.

"Because you have to choose your battles, Santana. You can't just fight everyone. And though you may _feel _powerful at the time, you're not gaining anything by stooping to her level, either," Mr. Schuester says, then pauses, thinking. "I mean, remember when we had the girls versus boys competition last year and you all took those vitamins to give you more energy? None of you felt like you'd actually won because you hadn't played fair," he explains. The students nod again (including Santana, but excluding Sam), remembering the event from the previous school year.

"I think he's got a point, guys," Finn says. "We're gonna be forced to work with people we _hate_ in our lives. We might as well practice not totally killing each other now, with people we can at least stand to be in the same room with." Mercedes and Artie smirk at Finn's oddly-worded statement.

"So it's settled. Our pairs are: Tina and Puck, Mike and Brittany, Lauren and Santana, Sam and Mercedes, Finn and Artie, and Quinn and Rachel. I want you guys to find songs about things you have in common; use this assignment as a way to become closer with your teammates" Mr. Schue says, clasping his hands together. "Go to work, guys."

Rather than 'go to work' like Mr. Schuester had instructed, Quinn opts to just stay in her seat and hope that Rachel will forget about her. Unfortunately, she feels someone sit down in the seat next to hers a few second later. Quinn looks up to see Rachel in the chair beside her with a notebook in her lap and a pen in her hand, poised to write.

"Quinn, I- I know that we're not friends - actually, I'm fairly certain you hate me - but I still think we should try to work together to make our performance the best it can be. Does that sound okay with you?" the small brunette says, looking at Quinn expectantly.

"I guess so," the blond answers with a sigh. "I'm sure you already have ideas, so go ahead, what are they?"

"Well, I _was_ going to suggest perhaps a popular song from the radio, but then I also considered a handful of Broadway selections as well- specifically 'What is this Feeling?' from _Wicked_, actually. How about you? Any musical suggestions?" Rachel asks with a smile. She seems genuinely interested, and this makes Quinn a bit suspicious.

"I hadn't really thought about it. Why would you want to know what I thought anyway?"

"Well, 'Loser Like Me' came out wonderfully and I hardly contributed to it at all, so I figured that maybe the same logic would apply here," Rachel explains with a shrug.

"I think 'What is this Feeling?' might work," Quinn replies, nodding and smirking slightly.

"Fabulous," the tiny diva says, standing. "When should we start rehearsing?"

"Uh, how about tomorrow after school? I don't have Cheerio's practice anymore obviously, so I'm free on Fridays now."

"Tomorrow it is then. Do you want to come to my house, or would you rather I come to yours?" Rachel asks in a professional tone.

"Um, your house might be better, actually," the ex-cheerleader replies.

"Ok, great. Well, you have my phone number, so you can always call me if you have any other song ideas or anything like that," the small brunette says excitedly before going back to her original seat in the row in front of Quinn's.

"Hey, Berry!" Quinn blurts out. "I don't hate you." Quinn feels a bit strange after saying this, like a weight's been lifted from her, but also like there's something more she should be saying.

Rachel doesn't notice Quinn's discontent, and pulls her pink backpack onto her shoulder. "Why, thank you, Quinn. I don't hate you either." With that, she pulls on her other shoulder strap, smiles her signature smile and turns to leave the choir room.

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><p>At 3:00 the next afternoon, Quinn sits in her car in front of Rachel Berry's house. She'd parked her car at the curb and taken the key out of the ignition, but had yet to actually get out of the car. Taking one final breath, she grabs her book bag from the passenger seat, opens the car door, and gets out.<p>

Twenty minutes later, Quinn and Rachel are sitting in the diva's bedroom. The room is exactly how Quinn would have imagined it in her head- pink walls, white bed, colorful bedspread, music posters all over the walls. The two girls listen to "What Is This Feeling?" for the second time, as they go back and forth discussing ideas for blocking.

By 3:45, the two have decided to take a break and Rachel leads Quinn downstairs to the kitchen. After bringing out two water bottles and a bowl of fruit salad for them to share, Rachel sits down at the kitchen table next to Quinn and smiles warmly. They eat in silence for a few minutes until Rachel decides to speak.

"Quinn, can I ask you something?"

"If you're going to ask for details about my break up with Finn, don't," the blond commands with a glare.

"I wasn't going to. I was actually going to ask why you're so unhappy," the diva asks quietly. Her eyes dart to the other girl for a moment, then back down at her hands which are clasped on the tabletop.

"Who said I wasn't happy?" Quinn asks with an icy tone.

"No one had to say it, Quinn," Rachel answers, looking to the blonde. Quinn looks down at her hands which are now clasped loosely in her lap, thinking.

After a moment or two, she speaks. "My parents are getting divorced."

"I'm so sorry-," the brunette starts, but then Quinn looks up at her and she stops.

"That's not why though. Not really," she explains, looking back down at her hands. "I just wanted my life back. Even if I wasn't a Cheerio, I could still walk around pretending everything was the same. It was stupid, and selfish; I know." The blonde's eyes dart toward Rachel, and make contact with the other girl's for a moment, before looking away again. "I know things can't go back to how they used to be. I was insane for thinking they ever could. I made some actual friends last year, and I gave them up just to be a _popular bitch_ again."

"No one ever said they'd given up on you though," Rachel says, with a small smile.

Quinn looks up at her, and nods.

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><p>Saturday night finds Quinn sitting with Mercedes, Kurt, and Rachel on Mercedes' bedroom floor. During the phone conversation Quinn had had with Mercedes the night before, the latter had invited her old friend to the "Diva Sleepover" she was having with her two friends, and after a bit of persuasion, the blonde finally agreed to attend.<p>

The four had been playing "Would You Rather" for the past five minutes, and the game had actually been pretty entertaining so far.

"Ok, Rachel, would you rather _star_ in _Mary Poppins_ or be an ensemble cast member in _Les Mis?_" Kurt asks.

"_Les Mis_," Rachel instantly answers. Kurt and Mercedes look shocked, and Quinn just looks a bit confused. "_Les Miserables_ is amazing. The storyline is so much more solid and the music so much more powerful than _Mary Poppins_' is. Even if I had a starring role, I don't think I would feel that I was really being truly challenged as a performer." Kurt nods in understanding, while Mercedes and Quinn share a small smirk and shake their heads.

"Your turn, Rachel. Ask a question," Kurt commands.

"Ok. Um…" She purses her lips, thinking, then grins mischievously. "Kurt, who would you rather see with no shirt on: Sam or Puck?" The three girls giggle as Kurt blushes slightly.

"In person or in a picture?" Mercedes smirks, and Kurt blushes more. "Not _that_ kind of picture, you perv!" The girls all laugh at how red Kurt's face is now.

"Hey, I didn't say nothin', white boy. But you better answer the question quick or I'm gonna answer it for you," Mercedes says, laughing.

"In person," Quinn says, wanting to hear the boy's answer.

"Probably Sam," Kurt answers, shrugging.

"Why Sam and not Puck?" Rachel asks. She'd dated Puck (for just over a week) last year, so she knew firsthand what a shirtless Puck looked like.

"Puck would make his creepy pervert eyes at me," he explains, and the girls laugh, knowing what he's talking about. "And, yes, I know Sam's not quite as Hulk-like, but the muscle he has works for him, it fits his body."

"Is it just me or does this sound a bit rehearsed?" Quinn asks, smirking. Kurt blushes and the girls giggle quietly.

"He was practically naked on stage when we did _Rocky Horror_. We all had quite a bit of time to appreciate his body," he says, throwing a glare in Mercedes' direction. Mercedes glares right back at him and then all four of them burst out laughing.

Around 2:00am, the four friends have finally fallen asleep on the floor. They'd originally gotten up around midnight up to brush their teeth and get ready for bed with the honest intention of sleeping, but then Kurt had asked a seemingly basic question that had turned into another discussion, and the four of them had sat talking on the floor for another hour and a half before they finally turned off the light in Mercedes' bedroom. Atop three unfolded sleeping bags, Mercedes, Quinn, Kurt, and Rachel are all huddled together under an assortment of blankets, sleeping peacefully.

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><p>The following Monday afternoon, the two girls meet in the choir room to go over their song again. Quinn enters to see Rachel sitting at the piano, playing "Get It Right" and humming along. After a moment, the brunette notices the other girl's presence and turns toward her, smiling.<p>

"Hey, Berry," Quinn says, dropping her book bag onto a choir chair.

"Hello, Quinn," Rachel answers, smiling more brightly now. "How are you today?"

"Fine," the blonde answers, trying to sound disinterested.

"Did you have fun at the sleepover on Saturday? At first when Mercedes said you were coming, I thought for sure she was only joking," Rachel says with a laugh.

"Yah, well, _I_ thought she was joking when she _invited_ me."

Quinn doesn't say anything else, so after a moment or two of awkward silence, Rachel claps her hands together and suggests they begin rehearsing.

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><p>Wednesday afternoon, the girls meet at Quinn's house. The song ends, and Rachel quickly pauses the track on her laptop, sighing contentedly.<p>

"Well, I think we're just about perfect," Rachel states in her usual confident tone.

"Of course we are, we've practiced this song a hundred times," Quinn says in an annoyed tone.

"Technically we only went over it 56 times, but I understand your point," Rachel replies matter-of-factly. Quinn rolls her eyes.

"So, _did_ you enjoy the sleepover on Saturday night?" Rachel asks quietly. "We never actually really talked about it the other day, and I was wondering, considering how surprised I was you attended at all. I'm curious to see what you thought," Rachel blurts out in one long breath.

The blonde shrugs her shoulders slightly. "It was alright, I guess. Nowhere near as crazy as I expected it to be," she says with a laugh.

"So, you _did _have fun?"

Quinn gives a half-smile. "Yes, Rachel. I had fun."

"But we are still not friends. I mean, you're friends with Kurt and Mercedes…" Rachel prompts, trailing off.

"I don't know if I would call us '_friends_' necessarily, but, I guess you could say we're on neutral ground now." Quinn answers, nodding to herself.

"Neutral ground it is then," Rachel replies with a small smile and a nod of her own.

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><p>Come Thursday, after many hours of practice, the two girls are ready to perform their song for the club. True to the characters, Quinn wears a pretty pale blue dress and lets her naturally wavy hair down for her role as Galinda, and Rachel wears a navy blue sweater and grey pleated skirt with her hair in a single braid for her portrayal of Elphaba.<p>

The rest of the club, plus Kurt and Blaine, because Dalton Academy is still on Spring Break this week, and Mr. Schuester sit in the choir room on the risers, watching as the two girls stand on the floor in front of them.

Rachel and Quinn stand frozen in their practiced poses – Quinn with a flirty look on her face, and a hand on her hip, and Rachel looking up at what she images to be the inside of a beautiful school, with her hands frozen in mid-air as if she were reaching out to touch something – waiting for the song to start.

After a few seconds, they unfreeze from their positions, look at each other, then frown just before Quinn begins her part.

"_Dearest, darlingest Momsie and Popsicle_," Quinn says as Galinda, looking out at her audience as if she's writing the letter in her head.

"_My dear Father_," Rachel says, also directed toward the audience.

"_There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiz_," they both continue.

"_But of course, I'll care for Nessa_," Rachel says, nodding her head humbly.

"_But of course, I'll rise above it_," Quinn adds, looking rather impressed with herself.

"_For I know that's how you'd want me to respond. Yes. There's been some confusion for you see my roommate is_…," they both continue.

"_Unusually and exceedingly peculiar, and altogether quite impossible to describe_," the blonde says, looking the other girl up and down skeptically.

"_Blonde_," Rachel says after a beat, rolling her eyes.

The music picks up and they make their way toward each other, glaring.

"_What is this feeling, so sudden and new?_" Quinn sings.

"_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you_," Rachel adds.

"_My pulse is rushing,_" Quinn continues.

"_My head is reeling,_" Rachel adds.

"_My face is flushing._"

"_What is this feeling,_" the two girls practically yell at each other, "_Fervid as a flame, does it have a name? Ye-es! Loathing, unadulterated loathing!_"

"_For your face,_" Quinn spits out.

"_Your voice_," Rachel says smirking rudely.

"_Your clothing!_"

"_Let's just say - I loathe it all! Ev'ry little trait, however small makes my very flesh begin to crawl with simple utter loathing!_"

The two girls start circling each other like a pair of boxers in a match. "_There's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation. It's so pure, so strong!_"

They stop their staring and switch spots, so now Rachel is by the piano and Quinn is standing by the drum set. Still watching one another, they continue their song. "_Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last. And I will be loathing, loathing you my whole life long!_"

Skipping over the chorus part as they'd planned, the song continues. "_What is this feeling, so sudden and new? I felt the moment I laid eyes on you. My pulse is rushing. My head is reeling._" Quinn and Rachel make their way toward the center of the floor.

The two are now standing about a yard away from each other, and lean in as they continue, looking more and more irritated. "_Oh, what is this feeling? Does it have a name? Yes. Ah-ahh!_"

"_Loathing!_" they sing together, joined by Tina, Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine who have all seen the show before.

"_There's a strange exhilaration_," Quinn sings.

Rachel sings, "_Loathing!_" under her (again with Kurt, Blaine, Tina and Mercedes), then adds, "_In such total detestation_."

"_Loathing!_" Quinn sings (with help from the new chorus members) under Rachel now.

"_It's so pure, so strong!_" the two girls sing together, smirking slightly now. "_Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last, and I will be loathing her forever, loathing, truly deeply-_,"

"_Loathing you!_" Rachel starts, taking a step away from Quinn and looking to the audience again.

"_Loathing you!_" Quinn repeats, doing the same.

"_My whole life long!_" they sing together, practically smiling now.

As the closing music plays, Rachel takes a few quick steps toward Quinn so she's now standing to the side of, and behind her.

"_Boo!_" Rachel says, making her Lady Gaga claw hand.

"_Ah!_" Quinn squeals, jumping away and crossing her arms over her chest, then glaring at Rachel, who's now smirking.

On the last beat of the song, Quinn turns her head away from the other girl, glaring, as Rachel, putting a hand on her hip, looks over to the blonde, smirking mischievously and thrusts her chin up slightly.

The performance is met with a rowdy applause from the students in the audience. The makeshift chorus members all stand and cheer as the two girls smile brightly and bow.

The smile on Quinn's face doesn't run and hide when the blonde looks over at her equally-excited partner, which, although she never really loathed Rachel to begin with, still is really saying something.

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><p><strong>thanks for reading!<strong>

**reviews are always appreciated!**


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